WASHINGTON , Aug. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Although the U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill, experts say the road ahead will be a bumpy one.
The two major political parties in the United States have a hard time even agreeing on the definition of infrastructure, says Elliott David Sclar, chairman of the Earth Institute of Columbia University.
"The Republicans say, 'No, infrastructure is roads and maybe public transport and existing communication,'" Sclar tells CGTN. "The Biden administration says, 'No, infrastructure is all the ways, both physically and socially, that connect people with work, that determine productivity and employment levels and growth of the economy.' So that's in essence the heart of what this debate is about."
The infrastructure bill, which still needs to pass the House of Representatives, includes $40 billion for public transportation. Ram Pendiala, a professor at Arizona State University's School of Sustainable Engineering, tells CGTN that improving public transportation services is not about upgrading a few buses or adding a few stations.
In a country where only seven major cities have subways, Pendiala says what is really needed is a qualitative change of the entire system.
The bill would spend $55 billion replacing the country's lead pipes and funding other clean-water projects. Sam Sandoval, an associate professor at UC Davis, said aging equipment and water pollution are the main problems facing the water supply system.
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